Tune began his career as a dancer in the Broadway shows Baker Street, A Joyful Noise and How Now Dow Jones. He would soon step out of the chorus and into a principal role in the Broadway musical Seesaw, which won him his first Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical.
His first Broadway directing and choreography credits were for the original production of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. Tune has been honored with nine Tony Awards celebrating him as a performer, choreographer and director. Tune is the recipient of The National Medal of Arts, and he has been honored with his own star on the legendary Hollywood Walk of Fame.
| Full given name: | Thomas James Tune. The New York Times asserts that my last name is originally Tunesmith; not true! |
| Where you were born/where you were raised: | Wichita Falls, TX. But I consider Houston my hometown. |
| Zodiac Sign: | Pisces (like Nureyev and Nijinsky) |
| Current audition song/monologue: | "(You Gotta Have) Heart" |
| Special skills: | I can cook! |
| First Broadway show you ever saw: | Happy Hunting, starring Ethel Merman and Fernando Lamas. They were feuding apparently, because after they kissed he wiped his mouth. |
| If you could go back in time and catch any show, what would it be? | I would love to have seen Fred and Adele Astaire in the Gershwins' Lady Be Good (1924). What they must have been together! |
| Current or recent show other than your own you have been recommending to friends: | You Can't Take It With You. Fresh and hilarious! Exquisite direction by Scott Ellis. |
| Favorite showtune(s) of all time: | "It's Not Where You Start, It's Where You Finish" |
| Some favorite modern musicals: | The Light in the Piazza, Once |
| The one performance – attended - that you will never forget: | Carol Channing in Hello, Dolly! |
| Music that makes you cry, any genre: | Peter Allen songs |
| Last book you read: | "Charles Walters: The Director Who Made Hollywood Dance" |
| Must-see TV show(s): | "Penny Dreadful," "The Knick," "AHS: Freak Show," "Da Vinci's Demons," "Masters of Sex" |
| Last good movie you saw: | "Boyhood" |
| Performer you would drop everything to go see: | Christine Ebersole |
| Three favorite cities: | NYC, San Francisco, San Antonio |
| First CD/Tape/LP you owned: | Bells Are Ringing original cast recording with Judy Holliday and Sydney Chaplin |
| One CD you can't live without: | Verve Jazz Masters 13: Antonio Carlos Jobim |
| First stage kiss: | Twiggy (yum-yum) |
| Favorite pre-/post- show meal: | Salmon and salad |
| Favorite liquid refreshment: | H2O (Unless there's Cristal brut in my glass) |
| Pre-show rituals or warm-ups: | Meditation, prayer, floor barre, vocal warm up, and I like to run over the most difficult choreography just before curtain. |
| Most challenging role you have ever played: | Jesus in the Easter pageant |
| Worst flubbed line/missed cue/onstage mishap: | Too many to mention, but I consider them happy accidents. They remind the audience that they are watching live theatre. No retakes. |
| Worst costume ever: | It was in A Joyful Noise and there was very little of it. It involved some white fringe. |
| Worst job you ever had: | Telesales, selling security to businesses. It was rather dreary. |
| Something about you that surprises people: | I'm a fan of "Monday Night Raw." Professional wrestling is like grand opera. Big emotions, big risks. |
| Career you would want if not a performer: | A short order cook |
| Three things you can't live without: | Bubbles and smoke and mirrors |
| "I'll never understand why…" | … so many current Broadway shows are so over mic-ed. Do they think we're all deaf? |
| Words of advice for aspiring performers: | The theatre is a calling. If you can do something else, anything else, then do it. If not, there's no choice—the theatre is for you. |
